Health-Care, Medicare, and ObamaCare

Why are progressives dissatisfied with Obama? Prescription drug regulation and ObamaCare, politicizing and dumbing down the SAT, and finding your perfect match in college with Susan Patton.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... the ... ah I'm Mary Kissel ... why ... bury bad news out of Washington for literally years thanks to Obamacare ... this slice of actually some good news on the health care space is editorial board member Joe radio show ... this was the sort of good news on a purely Congress is trying to kill the ... Medicare prescription drug benefit while ... now so the Medicare prescription drug benefit created in two thousand and three is really successful in a model for how you might perform the entitlement state effort ... to ... what it does to give seniors a defined contribution based on competitive bidding ... they want more expensive plan they paid the difference out of pocket ... income and companies ... that help plants pharmacy benefit managers a lot of freedom to create products that meet senior seats so low-cost risen or fallen over the years cost about forty five percent below the initial projection so it's it's been extremely successful for taxpayers and for seniors satisfaction levels are high ... but the problem for ... the health and human services Department is that this program shows that ... market competition actually can control costs and many ... seniors need so what they did was in January they propose this role ... that would've really gone after all that successful features ... of it but introduced a huge element of of government control that wouldn't wouldn't really did was designed to squelch ... I this this emerging ideas but to be in a Senate seat the administration route in commerce a display at this man in Congress they think this pretty interesting part is that there was a bipartisan ruble natural enemies in the eyes in politics and health care industry ... all came out in and really did announce this IQ had twenty of the twenty four members of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over Medicare and chewed including ... Democratic chairman Ron Wyden ... hundreds of of ... health industry companies coming out ... denouncing this saying ... you know ... get health plans providers patient add ... advocacy groups like the American cancer Society Mimi really United everybody and saying ... don't mess with the good thing so Joe didn't do you think that Congress revolted and because they felt that political pressure or because ... a certain of their state chief under a certain kinds of unions and others ... came out in Sydney can do this as the midterm elections looking at the healthcare industry is very influential on Capitol Hill that beat the other problem is this what it costs a lot of disruptions for seniors ... higher Costs Fewer plan choices so ... I think they're they're HHS is reserving the right to to maybe reintroduce some these ideas in the future is a bigot rediculous again big ticket item bring it up again and they they probably will but but for now ... it's it's a rare ... bit of good news is you mention wonderful a rare victory in Washington in health care and tore apart member Joe rink ... the concern for joining us ... more to come on opinion Journal state ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel ... a lot on the show about the conservative critique of the Obama administration ... but also critiques going on on the left side of politics here to explain his best the Web Today columnist James to ransom and James ... by an article in Harper's called nothing left that was that written by the new data offer each year ... the thrust of the story ... well ... the thrusters argument was that people on the ideological laughed ... I've had gotten too concerned with winning elections with a few too closely to the needs of the Democratic Party ... and are unwilling to offer are ideologically pointed criticism of President Obama ... and specifically he complained that they have got too much into identity politics to hide ... I'd you know this and that minority group that group ... and I got away from more radical redistribution its agenda one of things he says is if you that you can have a society in which one percent of people control ninety five percent of the stuff provided that one percent is ... half women proper psychological percent Latino and whatever the appropriate percentage is gay is that almost sounds like the conservative critique of the Democratic party that that they do too much identity politics yes but not for it's the Conservatives project in identity politics is different the conservative desperate politics is that it's ... our diminishes national cohesion ... that it's not your site goes against the principle of individual freedom ... that it's I'd I'd you know an equal opportunity ... these guys that this guy read and Thomas Frank one of our our former left wing columnist two interviews for salon at current exchange ... their criticism something different that they score netted equal opportunity ... The squad with a copy entrepreneurship which is that just wasn't for small business ... I'll what they want is basically socialist so they're upset that the private system basically one in the Democratic Party because identity politics is work for the Democrats ... in several of the last elections awaits an end ... well I think what specifically upsets them is that any night late I did this happen I ... overwhelmed ... many of the ideological critics on the left so ... I've read for example sets treated ended Schaeuble was the editor of the nation which is a pretty left wing magazine ... but he says you know she's basically ... got establishments she defends the Obama administration too much what they want is more ideology more long-term thinking about how to turn America into a socialist country ... OT and what their particular places they want to revive the labor movement now what's interesting is that ever talk about how the labor movement ... has actually hasn't really got smaller it's just completely changed its candidates are from the nineteen thirty one ... and I was thirty thousand employees which means that their adversaries ... are in negotiations are the government which is ... close to certain conflict of loyalties less well it's it's a very interesting today we don't hear much about a chemical peel returns soon ... to ... continue the conversation excellent columnist James Taranto thank you very much for joining us ... you might've heard recently that the College Board which is the organization ... that runs the SATA are college entrance exam at least one more prominent college entrance exams in shaking up the test ... that you didn't know the politics behind that decision ... about political diary editor and Fox News contributor Jason Riley joining me now Jason ... a quick slide here ... I didn't see us through what is the College Board's proposing to DBSK ... in a nutshell there is proposing that the Macau ... when you eliminate the penalty for guessing wrong ... or for audiences in general when you take away the essay ... or or make an option which is the case here ... on your your dumbing down the tax and I think this is really part ... of the national standards agenda of the Obama administration called Common Core ... they've been pushing that they've been pretending that this is a staple for ... the governor's came up with this on their own ... in fact the administration's been leading the way ... on this effort they may grace the top money ... contingent on on on going with this that they've given states waivers on Nocella high requirements ... that they played along here it's literally lead this effort is the core really such a bad thing Jason to set standards meanwhile raise the standards and some all in all depends on the standard tuning out yes and some in some states the standards will ... will increase in others it will come down but ... if the STT is doubling down ... to accommodate Common Core ... it tells you something about the common core standards estimate it will look into politics here who's running the College Board why would they do it ... well for my mini David called him and he was very explicit than that he wanted to bring ... the SHD aam up into compliant so to speak ... with Common Core and it shows however that ... that this is really a National led effort I think first and foremost despite the administration's claims ... and also shows that despite ... the goal of lifting standards which is what common core supporters claim it will do ... David Coleman at the SCG says the test is currently too hard ... to go standard so we need ... to lower ... so Jason to colleges have any say over this a mean ... you'd think if you would want to attract smart and swimming graduating get ... good jobs and encourage the kids to five-year school those is a good thing for the first well they have a say in that they can determine whether to use the athletes he has a crack tear out when when ... when when kids are are are are plotting and some schools don't increasingly ... schools don't they want more subjective ... measures than test scores for our class right that what they want to do other things but they they basically want some objective ... measures they wanna move away from the testing and the thinking here ... is that and it's called the segment as well as that this task rewards ... up with the euro upper income kids who have ... come for test preparation ... and the like we need a test that doesn't ... reward that sort of thing that's that's a carrot for every Jason that's a critique of of August when it comes before ... is also on the next several other than what that is that you know but by the time kids ... ensure kindergarten bury their differences ... in achievement and aptitude and so forth and the idea that you can make up for auction for that ... at the end of high school is ridiculous on its face I mean when not what we don't all have equal background to all men have equal outcomes and and that's just the fact and in the the the tenth of the SATA ... to accommodate that ... aam at this level I think is just misguided of an innocent Higher concept miss kindness entire concept The politicized comedown NCT ... little diary editor Jason Riley ... thanks for coming on show ... we got the prison mom Euronext to talk about marriage and feminism ... in feminism leading entire generation down the wrong path ... it too ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel ... Princeton graduate student hadn't set off a firestorm of comment ... when she wrote a letter to her alma mater advising young ladies there ... that they might well look around for smart men to marry in college because it gets ... pretty hard later in life why was it so controversial ... she's joining us now Princeton mom Susan Hackney author of Mary smart ... is in studio at its looks so controversial about your advice look around for a smart guy in there I have absolute no idea why it set off such a firestorm of controversy ... all I'm suggesting is that ... educated women everywhere if they know ... what children and they want to traditional marriage family ... after plan for their personal happiness ... but the same commitment and dedication that they're planning for the professional success do you think that feminism navigate the in the eighties ... and nineties after women fully entered the workplace ... has really miss led a lot of the licence how late I think feminism has has ... listened to young women in so many records ... has suggested she um um that they don't need and they shouldn't want that nation go allowing that met the enemy ... this is ... this is her blog sites and certainly for women to aspire to marriage and motherhood ... what could be more daunting than to be told now Nano that's that's unacceptable ... for you to ... aspire to marriage and motherhood is a betrayal of the sisterhood ... you hafta walk for yourself what we want for you ... up this is awful ... my colleague James ran to writes alot about the war on men say do you agree with in you think that's the real thing I agree with James Taranto on apps ... everything there yet ... Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg author of mean and ... is essentially saying when you can have it all you can have a Creek and have the family is that not true she blindly she is well she is misguided I think she's a very privileged woman is calm and to great success through very many ... privileges and opportunities that are not afforded to most black ... I prefer to say you know girls love to work harder ... tablet by Silverton after work or are we have to be smarter ... about what they want for themselves and pursue weighing ... in on that's what they ... truly want for themselves and stop being so it's time to be so ... politically ... correct but they also have to stop trying to be like men are near the genders really equal to the Genesis all not ... equal to tell our young women ... you want just saying this man died at the ... identical to how we differ ... shares of primary win with three different ... than have an unlimited window of opportunity within which to get married have children ... I have classmates on my age ... in the late fifties with two year olds and three year old took home second and third ... it is possible ... I ... when I have such a limited window of opportunity within which to build on children ... that women who are not smart for themselves and not paying attention to the biological ... didn't care that ... can find themselves in their mid thirties ... and miss their obligated to speak they are not saying that women can go on for years ... you wanna have a family ... for each other ... for the left or plan for about six ... months I get Pacquiao is half Korean ... wonderful to have Korea ... Doolittle multitask ... don't take your eye off the ball in terms of her personal happiness ... because you could make up lost time at work ... if you miss your opportunity to have your own children it's gone it's gone we know is close your achievable friend said mom Susan can take some time but severe gale joining us thank you Mary you can follow us on Twitter email us at Opinion Journal live it the beest dot com or check this out on Facebook at WS J opinion ... I'm Mary Kissel with The Wall Street Journal Editorial board ... thanks for watching ... mm mm ... I ...